Surprise

“Hello Spider-man," Doc Ock’s  cocky voice booms out. He uses his arms to walk himself in front of me, his body levitating on the ground, the road crunching with each step. He pushes up his steampunk glasses onto his head, pushing his dark hair out of his way. He then cracks his neck and hands confidently.

“Can we reschedule this? I'm kind of busy," I yell up to him. As I back down the street, I can’t help but feel like a bug waiting to be stomped.

“Sorry, I have a deadline," he laughs. “Nothing personal.” One of his arms whips past me, catching my suit and tearing a small hole in the fabric, exposing my arm. I feel the  small scratch appear, the dribbles of blood distracting me. 

Wow. Why does this have to be happening now? I really need to go find Harry. What if his dad is hurting him? What if he’s setting him up as bait for me? My stomach churns with the ideas of him getting hurt. 

“If you’d like to make it easy on yourself, surrender and come with me," Doc Ock says while throwing his metal claws at me, all in different directions, making it difficult for me to evade them. The battle speeds up a bit with him launching his arms after me in attack, and me on the defensive. I keep my feet light, jumping between buildings, and using my webs to pull myself out of close calls. I need to get him closer to the bay; then I won't have to worry as much about our surroundings. Maybe I can lose him and get away? Or web him up and leave him for the police? No, he would just follow me, and then I would have to fight two villains at once, assuming Norman has switched roles to be the Goblin. 

“What do you want with me anyway?" I pant. I can't keep dodging; I need to fight back soon, or find a way out. I was hoping to get out of this fight quickly, but I know I can't keep avoiding him. I need to go on the  offensive.

“You have some business with The Green Goblin," he said, while lunging at me. “I'm just the messenger.”

Oh. 

I remember what he whispered in my ear during our last fight. My dreams kept ending before I could hear him clearly. He was taunting me with the Green Goblin. It is  Norman, right?  What kind of name is Green Goblin anyway?

“Tell him to get me himself then!" I yell back, my voice already patchy and out of breath. I continuously swing around Doctor Ock, his arms not too far behind me.

“Sorry Spidey, we have a deal, and I need to hold up my end," his voice is smooth and reassuring and his smile is warm and friendly. My heart pangs with the thought of the man he is… Or used to be. 

We dance across the freeway, cars frantically swerving around us. Luckily he has no interest in the civilians, for now at least. I watch as one of his claws comes straight for my chest, and I jump out of the way before it can crash into me, but I still end up colliding with the sidewalk underneath me. I miscalculated where his arm was going. My lower stomach is being pinned into the ground, and my legs are going numb from my nerves being pinched. He moves towards me slowly, an ominous aura that wasn't there before engulfing him. I try to push his arm off of me, but I can't get it to budge. My breathing is getting fainter. I frantically look around me, begging for a way out to present itself. 

The doctor places another claw on my legs, assuring my capture. He lowers himself down, his own legs finally touching the pavement. He sighed and makes a much-put-upon face at me

“Don't worry. The Goblin seems like an understanding man. You might be able to strike up your own deal with him.” While he makes his long speech, which I'm hardly listening to, my eyes finally connect with a street light that's tucked away in the corner. I try to subtly throw a web to it, praying the Doctor won't catch onto my plans. I wrap my webs around my wrists a few times to get a better grip, and pull hard with my remaining strength. The light tips over, crashing down loudly beside us. The sound makes my ears ring. The Doctor loosens his grip for a moment, startled from the commotion. I manage to slip out of his grasp, and I stumble onto the ground, from my numb legs, hitting my face hard. I manage to throw out another web, which jerks me into the sky, away from him while I regain the feeling in my legs.

I finally make it to the tallest building in this area, the doctor basically breathing down my neck. I quickly sling my webs up the skyscraper, pulling myself up to the top as hastily as possible. The doctor's metal arms follow behind closely, breaking off pieces of the building with his ascent, the chunks booming loudly as they hit the pavement.

At the top of the building, my arms sore from how frantically I had  pulled myself up, I ready my web shooters and plant my feet, my lungs burn and the taste of iron is thick on my tongue. I adjust my aim. Doctor Octopus emerges into my view, and wastes no time sending his arms over in an attempt to pin me down.

“Having four arms seems pretty unfair during a fight," I pant out, waiting and analyzing for the best time to take him down.

“Aw, are you getting tired, Spiderman?" his deep voice crooned.

“Don't worry about me. I'm just getting started," I shot back. 

“Finally," he laughed, “you haven't even tried to throw a punch.” His metal claw launches towards me, throwing me off guard. The hands spun around and clipped my ankle, knocking me onto my back, hard. Knowing my fate if I delay my response time, I jump back up, despite my loss of breath. I can't wait any longer to fight back. The timing for my plan isn't right, but he’ll capture me if I don't do something soon. 

While the doctor is in the air, two or his metal tentacles keep his body floating, I shoot a web towards one of his bottom arms. The web clings well onto the metal, and I pull hard, causing him to lose his footing and fall over. Score. He topples hard on the roof, his arms falling flat beside him. I waste no time shooting a surplus of webs over his claws in an attempt to keep him down. 

I take a minute to breathe deeply, and calm myself down. Doctor Octopus quickly rips his arms out of his sticky shackles, and stands once again, towing over me, and draws his arm back, preparing himself to send it viciously my way. Before his claw clashes into my face, I shoot webs onto his lower claws that are gripping onto the roof. I wrap my webs around my hands and pull as right as I can, ripping his arms out from under him once again. I fall back from the recoil, slamming hard into the roof. I clatter my teeth and bite my tongue, sending an overwhelming flavor of blood to my tastebuds. I shuffle up quickly to watch as the villain seems to fall in slow motion. I hold my breath as I watch him fall, hoping and praying I was correct in my plan. 

He falls over once again, but this time he doesn't have the roof to catch him. His legs hit hard against the side of the building, sending him spiraling off of it. He plummets down the skyscraper, his arms desperately trying to find something to grip onto to break his fall. 

I instinctively  lean forward– it’s difficult to watch someone  fall like that and not dive to help them. His arms try to grab onto the side of the building, yet he's falling too quickly, sending chunks of cement ripping off the building, diving to the ground with him. This building isn't that tall, but it will certainly damage his octopus arms. It barely takes more than a few seconds for him to fall one story, then the next. I watch him as he falls, guilt already gnawing at   me. What if he died? If he was a normal person, he would die. My stomach ties itself if knots as his landing approaches quickly. I want to bring my hand up to hide my eyes, but I can't force myself to look away. 

He slams loudly against the pavement, his arms limply falling beside him. I see his chest moving up and down heavily, assuring me he is alive. 

“Wow. That was quicker than expected, thank God,” I mutter.  Considering the last fight was such a disaster for me,  if I had to worry about any civilians, I would not have beaten him so quickly. I sigh loudly, swallowing my remaining guilt. Usually, I would wait for the cops to show up, even though they always threaten to arrest me, but I don't have time today. 

I need to go find Harry. I shake the remaining jitters out of my hands, and bolt off of the roof, feeling the harsh winter wind cut through my suit and sting my skin. I dive  towards  the ground quickly as I wait for the perfect timing to send off my webs.

Before I hit the ground, I push hard on my web shooter, which sends me soaring down the road. The weather is colder than usual, leaving my hands and feet numb. I sling another web and continue to Harry's house. Is he okay? God I hope he's okay. It wasn't supposed to be like this! I was supposed to protect him! How could I let his father take him??

I suddenly cringe with the memory of this morning. How could I hit him with a bat? What if he sues me? Aunt May and I don't have the money to spare. What if I get sent to prison for assault? What if he isn't the Green Goblin and I'm somehow misunderstood that phonecall?. I really can't believe I hit him. I try to make sure Peter is calm and well-mannered. I don't want people to make the connection that I'm spiderman. My stomach feels ill as I realize how much of an idiot I am. 

I realize while swinging, that a bus is right in my path. I jolt hard from sending off a last-minute web to protect myself from slamming straight into it.  Gah, I'm so flustered. I need to pay attention to my surroundings. What if Doc Oc appeared again? I need to be fully ready for anything. I need my guard up. I'll deal with the consequences of my actions as they show up. I need all my focus on Harry right now. 

How long was that fight? It didn't feel like it was long, but the sun was high in the air, giving off little warmth to this depressing, cold day. Could Harry have already made it home by now? If they aren't home, where would they be? I know I need to pay attention, but I can't help from spiraling. My brain is going a million miles a minute, and every thought is terrifying me. 

I eventually make it to Manhattan, my shoulder blades burning from their overuse. My stomach is sick, and my lungs burn from the cold air. I immediately start along the path to Harry's house, not caring about the precautions I usually take. I'll find a way to get this story out of the news later. I have no time right now. 

I swing up to the Osborn penthouse, a small amount of relief washes over me as everything seems normal from the outside. I swing myself to the side of the building, and latch into the side with my sticky hands. I crawl like a spider along the side of the building, trying to find a window that's unlocked. I don't mind breaking in, but I want this to be as stealthy of a mission as possible. I desperately want to book it to Harry's window and see if he's in there, but I can't stop thinking of the horrible outcomes that will come with that decision. 

I need to stay hidden and I need to make  sure of Harry's safety.